The number of motor vehicles registered in Australia has steadily increased since 1996. At 31 March 2001 there were some 12 million motor vehicles (excluding motor cycles, tractors, plant and equipment, caravans and trailers) registered in Australia (table 23.32). This represents an increase of 1.6% since the previous census taken on 31 October 1999. Approximately eight out of every 10 vehicles are passenger vehicles. Table 23.33 shows registered motor vehicles by state/territory of registration. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland predominate with 30.1%, 26.6% and 18.8% of the total vehicle fleet respectively.

23.32 REGISTERED MOTOR VEHICLES

Trucks

Motor vehicle

Passenger vehicles(a)

Light commercial vehicles

Rigid

Articulated

Non-freight carrying

Buses

Total(b)

Motor cycles

census years(c)

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

’000

1996

9,022

1,602

341

58

16

59

11,097

304

1997

9,240

1,632

342

59

17

61

11,351

313

1998

9,561

1,686

347

62

18

64

11,738

329

1999

9,720

1,721

347

63

18

66

11,935

334

2001

9,870

1,770

338

63

18

68

12,126

351

(a) Includes campervans.(b) Excludes motor cycles, tractors, plant and equipment, caravans and trailers.(c) As at 31 March for 2001 and as at 31 October for all previous years shown.

At 31 March 2001 the average age of the Australian motor vehicle fleet was 10.5 years (table 23.34), a 72.1% increase on the 1971 average of 6.1 years. Tasmania recorded the highest average age at 12.4 years while the Northern Territory recorded the lowest average age at 9.2 years. For vehicle type, campervans had the oldest average age at 19.0 years, while buses recorded the lowest at 9.9 years.

23.34 ESTIMATED AVERAGE AGE OF THE VEHICLE FLEET(a) - At 31 March 2001

State/territory of registration

Type of vehicle

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Aust.

Passenger vehicles

9.0

10.6

10.1

11.8

10.4

12.0

8.9

10.0

10.1

Campervans

17.2

19.7

16.9

19.4

21.0

19.5

19.4

19.6

19.0

Light commercial vehicles

10.3

12.4

11.1

12.6

11.9

13.2

9.9

10.9

11.4

Rigid trucks with GVM(b) 3.5 and < 4.5 tonnes

11.2

14.6

12.2

14.5

14.1

17.0

7.6

12.0

12.7

Rigid trucks with GVM(b) 4.5 tonnes and over

13.8

17.2

14.6

17.6

17.4

17.1

12.8

10.9

15.7

Articulated trucks

10.9

12.0

11.5

11.2

13.6

10.9

12.0

7.9

11.7

Non-freight carrying trucks

13.9

15.5

11.6

14.2

16.8

17.3

12.6

15.6

14.6

Buses

9.3

10.5

10.1

11.6

8.5

13.9

7.6

9.6

9.9

Motor cycles

9.0

9.6

10.7

(c)9.6

11.7

10.3

8.0

9.4

10.0

Total

9.4

11.0

10.5

12.0

11.0

12.4

9.2

10.1

10.5

(a) Excludes plant and equipment, caravans and trailers.(b) Gross vehicle mass.(c) Year of manufacture is frequently not reported for SA motor cycles.

Source: Motor Vehicle Census, Australia, 31 March 2001 (9309.0).

The number of registered motor vehicles (excluding motor cycles) relative to the resident population increased steadily over the seven years to 1998, from 582 vehicles per 1,000 persons in 1991 to 644 per 1,000 persons in 1998 (table 23.35). The number stayed much the same in 1999 and 2001.

23.35 MOTOR VEHICLES(a)(b) ON REGISTER PER 1,000 OF POPULATION

1991

1993

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2001

New South Wales

525

529

545

556

563

581

574

575

Victoria

622

642

637

669

677

682

693

689

Queensland

569

593

614

624

627

645

659

652

South Australia

637

638

653

667

671

693

692

700

Western Australia

653

665

679

694

706

725

723

720

Tasmania

643

661

676

686

686

684

701

704

Northern Territory

507

497

520

529

530

538

535

522

Australian Capital Territory

556

591

604

613

637

631

635

649

Australia

582

595

606

614

630

644

647

645

(a) Excludes motor cycles, tractors, plant and equipment, caravans and trailers.(b) Motor vehicle census years, as at 31 March for 2001 and as at 31 October for all previous years shown.

The number of new motor vehicles sold in Australia rose from 616,000 in 1994 to a peak of 807,000 vehicles sold in 1998. Annual sales have fluctuated since that time with 775,000 vehicles sold in 2001 (table 23.36). Of the total vehicles sold in 2001, 68.4% were passenger vehicles; in 1994 some 74.9% of vehicle sales had been passenger vehicles.

23.36 SALES OF NEW MOTOR VEHICLES, By type of vehicle: Seasonally adjusted

Table 23.37 shows sales of new motor vehicles for each state and territory. In 2001, New South Wales had the highest sales of new motor vehicles in Australia (almost 271,000), representing 34.9% of all sales in that year, followed by Victoria (27.9%) and Queensland (17.5%). The Northern Territory had the lowest annual sales at 0.9% of total sales.

The number of locomotives, passenger cars and wagons in the Australian rail fleet is shown in table 23.38. A large number of the narrow gauge diesel locomotives are owned by Queensland operators (Queensland Rail and Sugar Cane Railways), and service the Brisbane to Cairns route or the extensive rail network transporting sugar cane. Queensland Rail has the largest fleet of locomotives with 350 narrow gauge diesel and 184 narrow gauge electric. Other operators with large locomotive fleets are Freight Corp (NSW) and Tranz Rail (NZ) which operates in Tasmania.

There were 8,888 ships registered in Australia at 28 June 2002 (table 23.39), with Queensland having the largest fleet (2,829 ships). In all states and territories except South Australia and Tasmania, over half the fleets were registered for recreational use. High percentages of ships registered in South Australia (49.1%) and Tasmania (40.7%) were registered for fishing purposes.

23.39 SHIPS REGISTERED(a) IN AUSTRALIA - At 28 June 2002

Nature of registration

Recreational

Fishing

Government

Demise chartered(b)

Other

Total

New South Wales

1,807

280

4

6

251

2,348

Victoria

666

199

-

1

100

966

Queensland

1,634

756

18

10

411

2,829

South Australia

283

317

1

-

45

646

Western Australia

623

412

1

3

147

1,186

Tasmania

259

219

2

-

58

538

Northern Territory

284

61

1

-

29

375

Australia

5,556

2,244

27

20

1,041

8,888

(a) Australian-owned commercial or trading ships of 24 metres or more in tonnage length. All ships, regardless of tonnage length, must be registered before departing on a voyage from Australia or from a foreign port where there is an Australian diplomatic representative.(b) Demise charter is the charter of a foreign ship operated by an Australian company in Australian waters. These ships are not necessarily engaged in trade or commerce.

Source: Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

The major Australian trading fleet (vessels of 2,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT) and over) comprised 54 ships at 30 June 2000 (table 23.40). The largest registered coastal ships were the Iron Whyalla and the Iron Spencer (both 141,475 DWT) which shipped iron ore and coal. The minor trading fleet, consisting of vessels with gross tonnage (GRT) of between 150 and 2,000 tonnes, comprised 23 ships.

23.40 THE AUSTRALIAN TRADING FLEET, Ships 150 gross tonnes or more - At 30 June 2000

Ships

no.

DWT(a)

GRT(b)

Major Australian fleet(c)

Coastal

Australian registered

40

1,362,268

912,856

Overseas registered

5

124,353

75,881

Total

45

1,486,621

988,737

Overseas

Australian registered

8

633,694

636,346

Overseas registered

1

149,235

88,122

Total

9

782,929

724,468

Total

54

2,269,550

1,713,205

Minor trading ships(d)

Australian registered

22

12,986

10,947

Overseas registered

1

800

5,618

Total

23

13,786

16,565

Australian trading fleet

77

2,283,336

1,729,770

(a) Deadweight tonnes is the weight that a vessel can carry, including cargo, bunkers, water and stores.(b) Gross tonnage is the measure of internal capacity of a ship that is available within the hull and enclosed spaces for cargo, stores, passenger and crew.(c) 2,000 DWT and over.(d) Minor trading ships are between 150 GRT and 2,000 DWT.

Source: Department of Transport and Regional Services.

Aircraft fleet

The following information, relating to the aircraft fleet in Australia at 30 June 2002, was provided by the Department of Transport and Regional Services.

At 30 June 2002 there were 11,779 aircraft registered in Australia, including 10,696 aeroplanes and helicopters, and 1,083 gliders. Of these the main airlines had 172 aircraft, a 17.7% decrease on the previous year following the collapse of Ansett Airlines in September 2001.

More than half the regional airline fleet comprised turbine engine and jet aircraft each carrying up to about 90 passengers.

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